218 Apartments for rent in Chester, VA

Despite the area having the lowest crime rate in the Richmond metropolitan area, residents s...Despite the area having the lowest crime rate in the Richmond metropolitan area, residents still sleep with one eye open, since the ghosts of civil war battles and the “Lady in...Read Guide >

Despite the area having the lowest crime rate in the Richmond metropolitan area, residents still sleep with one eye open, since the ghosts of civil war battles and the “Lady in Red” ghost of Wrexham Hall are rumored to live nearby.

Chester is a bedroom community of Richmond that puts up a good fight against being immersed in the area’s suburban sprawl. It originally was only a train station at the midpoint of the Richmond and Petersburg Railroad and the site of the little-known Battle of Chester Station near the end of the Civil War. Over the next century, the farms and forests surrounding the station gave way to the residential neighborhoods of this small commuter town, located about 15 miles south of downtown Richmond. Chester may be the place for you if you're looking for new apartments with ample amenities, better-than-average schools, and easy access to chain stores and golf courses,

Most businesses and residential neighborhoods in Chester have been built within the last few decades, although they are often interspersed with historical houses and buildings, many of which are reportedly haunted. Wrexham Hall, for example, was built in the late 1700s by Captain Archibald Walthall, and the ghost of his daughter Susannah continues to haunt the building’s grounds, or so they say. But have no fear; you need not worry about renting a haunted apartment, because most rental units in Chester are fairly new and assumedly ghost-free. With Chester’s somewhat low vacancy rate of 4.4 percent, however, you will need to be somewhat strategic in finding the perfect home or apartment to rent. Plan to begin looking for apartments at least 2 months prior to moving from your current home.

The median gross rent in Chester is only slightly higher than that of Richmond’s, but expect to pay a bit more to live near the Village Green, Chester’s new town center. In general, the rent for one and two-bedroom units in Chester ranges depending on the age and amenities offered by the apartment complex. Similarly, monthly rent for three and four-bedroom units average a little bit higher. Note that few if any properties offer studio apartments.

Village Green: The town strives to maintain a community-oriented village feel with the recent construction of the stylish Village Green in “downtown” Chester. The Village Green includes a fairly new library, shops, a few restaurants, condos, apartments and single-family homes. $$$

Areas outside of downtown Chester: Other neighborhoods generally are surrounded by shopping centers and highways, although apartment complexes often are located on beautiful grounds with ponds and forested areas nearby. Common amenities of these properties include pools, gyms, tennis courts and pet-friendly management. Woof woof. Meow. $$

August 2017 Chester Rent Report

Welcome to the August 2017 Chester Rent Report. Chester rents increased over the past month. In this report, we'll evaluate trends in the Chester rental market, including comparisons to cities throughout the state and nation.

Chester rents increased slightly over the past month

Chester rents have increased 0.3% over the past month, and are up moderately by 2.6% in comparison to the same time last year. Currently, median rents in Chester stand at $1,080 for a one-bedroom apartment and $1,240 for a two-bedroom. This is the second straight month that the city has seen rent increases after a decline in May. Chester's year-over-year rent growth leads the state average of 1.7%, but trails the national average of 2.9%.

Rents rising across cities in Virginia

Throughout the past year, rent increases have been occurring not just in the city of Chester, but across the entire state. Of the largest 10 cities that we have data for in Virginia, all of them have seen prices rise. Virginia as a whole has logged a 1.7% year-over-year growth. Here's a look at how rents compare across some of the largest cities in the state.

Looking throughout the rest of the state, Arlington is the most expensive of all Virginia's major cities outside the Richmond metro, with a median two-bedroom rent of $2,060; of the 10 largest Virginia cities that we have data for, all have seen rents rise year-over-year, with Centreville experiencing the fastest growth (+4.8%).

Centreville, Portsmouth, and Virginia Beach have all experienced year-over-year growth above the state average (4.8%, 3.1%, and 2.9%, respectively).

Chester rents more affordable than many large cities nationwide

Rent growth in Chester has been relatively stable over the past year - some other large cities have seen more substantial increases, while in a few cases, rents have actually declined. Chester is still more affordable than most large cities across the country.

Chester's median two-bedroom rent of $1,240 is above the national average of $1,160. Nationwide, rents have grown by 2.9% over the past year.

While rents in Chester remained moderately stable this year, similar cities saw increases, including Seattle (+5.6%), Phoenix (+5.0%), Dallas (+2.9%); note that median 2BR rents in these cities go for $1,710, $1,020, and $1,110 respectively.

Renters will find more reasonable prices in Chester than most large cities. Comparably, San Francisco has a median 2BR rent of $3,060, which is nearly two-and-a-half times the price in Chester.

For more information check out our
national report.
You can also access our full data for cities and counties across the U.S. at
this link.

Methodology - Recent Updates:

Data from private listing sites, including our own, tends to skew toward luxury apartments, which introduces sample bias when estimates are calculated directly from these listings. To address these limitations, we’ve recently made major updates to our methodology, which we believe have greatly improved the accuracy and reliability of our estimates.

Read more about our new methodology below, or see a more detailed post here.

Methodology:

Apartment List is committed to making our rent estimates the best and most accurate available. To do this, we start with reliable median rent statistics from the Census Bureau, then extrapolate them forward to the current month using a growth rate calculated from our listing data. In doing so, we use a same-unit analysis similar to Case-Shiller’s approach, comparing only units that are available across both time periods to provide an accurate picture of rent growth in cities across the country.

Our approach corrects for the sample bias inherent in other private sources, producing results that are much closer to statistics published by the Census Bureau and HUD. Our methodology also allows us to construct a picture of rent growth over an extended period of time, with estimates that are updated each month.

About Rent Reports:

Apartment List publishes monthly reports on rental trends for hundreds of cities across the U.S. We intend these reports to be a source of reliable information that help renters and policymakers make sound decisions, and we invest significant time and effort in gathering and analyzing rent data. Our work is covered regularly by journalists across the country.

We are continuously working to improve our methodology and data, with the goal of providing renters with the information that they need to make the best decisions.